British artists Heather Ackroyd & Dan Harvey recently transformed a landmark church in South East London by covering the interior in a layer of living grass. Their artwork makes explicit connections with urban political ecologies by highlighting the temporal nature of processes of growth and decay in sites of architectural and ecological interest as well as contemporary art galleries and museums worldwide. The project is organized by the The London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT). You can see it for yourself in Dilston Grove’s Clare College Mission Church, South London.



As reported in New Scientist the Grass Wall process involves:

Stripping walls down to bare plasterwork
Smearing the walls with a layer of soft moist clay a few millimetres thick. Moisture content is critical as if it is too wet it will slide off or too dry and it will peel away.
Press in about 10 seeds every square centimetre of clay so that the finished surface resembles a sesame seed cake.
The walls are then watered three or four times a day to make sure that the clay doesn’t dry out.
In about six days the grass will germinate and then only water once per day
Unfortunately the dense growth of the grass starts to get mouldy after about 25 days. This is because the grass grows so densely that air cannot circulate and water becomes trapped. After about a month the grass wall is taken down.

Sculp(IT) Architecten annouced the opening of one of world’s biggest floating openair swimming poolsin Antwerp, Belgium at the Kattendijkdok in mid-August. The pool, with a total length of 120 meters (394 feet), can accommodate 600 people and consists of a swim basin, two event venues, several floors and a restaurant with a lounge terrace.

Project Description from the Architects:
‘The City of Antwerp commissioned a ship with the only condition that it covered an area of 120 by 25 metres and incorporate a swimming pool. For the rest we had carte blanche. We won the pitch and from then on we had to turn our plans into reality. The starting point was the existing ferryboat which Philip De Prest absolutely wanted to use for the project. I have always been fascinated by the maritime world and Sculp(IT) wanted to create a modern, minimalist vessel that was ecologically sound and appeared to integrate seamlessly with the surrounding docks. In addition it had to have extra facilities for the public to enjoy. The result from all this is the Badboot.’

Outdoor swimming pools that float on the city’s canals or rivers are familiar to us from Berlin and Copenhagen. But the Badboot cannot be compared with these two European predecessors in any sense. The Badboot is much bigger, can be moved to another site and will be open throughout the year. Every summer for the next ten years, the platform will be able to welcome bathers in Antwerp’s docks and the swimming pool will be an ice rink in winter. You will also be able to enjoy winter barbecues and winter sports activities (such as curling) on the Badboot.

It also has a restaurant with a lounge deck that will be run by top chefs of Fiskebar, the popular restaurant at Antwerp Zuid. Events can be organised every day of the year in the two event rooms and there is plenty of parking space.
This makes the Badboot the perfect location for organising product launches, office parties, seminars and private events throughout the year.

The deck is open to everybody: for barely 4 euros a swim, Antwerpers can enjoy the revolutionary outdoor swimming pool on water. ‘The Badboot is a perfect complement to the existing urban outdoor pools in Antwerp’, thinks Maarten Dieryck of the City of Antwerp. ‘Having no more than two outdoor swimming pools in the city, we have a dire shortage of opportunities to enjoy water sports in the open air. This project will provide the axis of the development of Antwerp Docklands. That’s why we believe this is a brilliant project.’

It should be clear that the Badboot is a full-fledged leisure platform for the city and not a push barge that happened to be converted to a swimming pool, like elsewhere in Europe. The platform is unique in the world as regards both size and facilities and its potential to use it in all seasons. This is a scoop for the Scheldt port, which again proves its reputation as a cool metropolis.
Facts & Figures:
120 m: the entire length of the Badboot. With several levels and a capacity to accommodate 600 people, this gigantic project makes it one of the biggest outdoor swimming pools with leisure facilities in the world. A total terrace area of no less than 750 m2, ensures that swimmers can enjoy an après-swim drink with a magnificent view over the MAS, the port and the new projects at Antwerp Docklands. In 2013, the Red Star Line Museum will open opposite the Badboot.
Nearly the same length as an Olympic size swimming pool: including the paddling pool, the Badboot pool is 40 metres in length and therefore offers exceptional swimming facilities to visitors. Swimmers seem to dive into the dock of Antwerp Dockland’s Kattendijkdok, providing a unique experience.
A feat of 6 months: ‘Building such a gigantic project in half a year is quite a challenge’, says Martin Seine of shipbuilders HSS. ‘This project is by far the most extraordinary project we have ever worked on.’ The construction of the boat started on 1 February 2012. Everything has to be completed at the start of August. At the moment we are right on schedule.
100% Antwerp Steel: all the steel is supplied by ASS, the Antwerp Steel Services nv. The vessel is built as an integrated structure in Maasbracht in the Netherlands by the HSS yard and on completion will return to Belgium.
The original ferry – which will connect the brand new Badboot to the quayside – was built in 1964. ‘We wanted to emphasise the authentic maritime character of the ferry’, says architect Pieter Peerlings. ‘For example, right now, the original wheelhouse or bridge is being converted into a cocktail bar. By the way, we found a coin from 1964 on the MV Antoon van Dijck, so we are planning to conceal a coin anno 2012 in the Badboot. Traditions are there to be honoured’, he laughs”

Within a human lifetime, the face of Earth has been transformed. Cities now dominate the landscape, and even if people disappeared tomorrow, cities would remain one of the Anthropocene’s most visible and enduring legacies.
In 1950, only 29% of people lived in cities. Today more than half do, and that proportion is expected to reach 70% by 2050. In 2008, the global urban population exceeded the number of people dwelling in the country for the first time in history. By 2025, there will be about 600 cities of a million people or more.
Recently, urban growth has shifted from Europe and South America to Asia and Africa. Asia’s urban population is growing faster than that anywhere else. It passed the billion mark in 1990, and is expected to reach 3.4 billion by 2025. In the next couple of decades, more than 275 million people are projected to move into India’s enormous city centres. In Africa, meanwhile, only 40% live in cities, but this is changing fast.
Historically, cities had to be sited near water and fertile land. Today, global distribution networks mean they can spring up all over the world, even where there are few natural resources.
This frenetic urban growth is a big cause of environmental change. It drives loss of agricultural land, changes in temperature and the loss of biodiversity. Cities consume two-thirds of the world’s total energy and account for more than 70% of all energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. But people living in cities often have low carbon emissions because of efficient public transport systems and the fact that people often live closer to their work.

Our friend Marc Storms, Project Manager and Architect at Blue Forest just sent us photos of their gorgeous latest project called ’Eco Perch.’ The refuge features natural materials and an organic form which allows it to blend perfectly in the nature.

With options to assemble your building on the ground or in the treetops there are infinite possibilities for creating accommodation with a difference. To simplify the planning requirements the building has been designed to conform with the Caravan & Mobile Homes Act.

It’s natural, organic geometry maximizes the relationship between the inside space and the outdoor setting, ensuring the structure sits harmoniously within the landscape. This versatile accommodation unit offers guests an unrivaled experience and provides clients with a vivid resource for PR and marketing, helping to set them apart from the competition.